Another reminder that all is not back to normal in college football came Wednesday.
Normally Penn State would be gearing up to host a big crowd Saturday for the annual Blue-White Game. But out of caution during the pandemic — the New York Times has Centre County at “very high risk” of exposure to COVID-19 based on the trend of cases — there will be no formal Blue-White Game.
Penn State instead announced a list of “virtual initiatives” for fans on Saturday that involved social media giveaways, a video tour of campus and a radio broadcast with Steve Jones and Jack Ham of the Nittany Lions’ practice at noon from Beaver Stadium. But there will be no video feed from the event on TV or online.
Lions coach James Franklin said Wednesday that Saturday will be closer to a normal practice than the full-game scrimmage they would normally put on for fans at a traditional Blue-White Game.
“Sometimes the scrimmage is to make it more digestible for the fans and for TV, that it’s more to what they’re used to watching and looking at,” Franklin said. “When it’s something like this and it’s more of a practice, you can make an argument that we’ll get a lot out of it from that perspective as well.
“For us, it’s going to be more like a practice than it will be a spring game. But we’ll have some of the bells and whistles that people will enjoy, the students will enjoy.”
The only people allowed into the stands Saturday will be family members of players, coaches and staffers as well as first-year students who have yet to have a chance to get into Beaver Stadium after the 2020 Big Ten season was held without fans.
While coaches often say they get more out of practices than the made-for-TV scrimmages, Franklin did point out a downside to not having an open spring game.
“One of the challenges we have is, we’re recruiting guys that want to come to our spring game and who are going down South,” Franklin said. “One kid we’re recruiting here in the state of Pennsylvania, he’s going down South, and you would never even know that there was a pandemic. They’re having a wide-open spring game with fans and full capacity and everything else.
“He’s going to go get that experience, and obviously we’d love to be able to provide a similar type of experience. But I do think this is a step in the right direction, and we’re appreciative of that.”
Cain making progress
Closing in on six months since he injured his ankle, Noah Cain has worked his way back onto the field. For at least a little bit.
The third-year sophomore running back went down on the opening drive of the 2020 season, and the Lions offense badly missed his steady, productive pace.
Franklin said at the start of spring ball that he expected Cain would be able to start his return before practices ended, and he confirmed Wednesday that has happened.
“Noah has been able to go. Not full-go, not in live settings, but he is getting reps, which I think has been good,” Franklin said. “In my mind, he’s probably a little bit further ahead than I anticipated him being, so the reps have been good that he’s been able to get.”
The Lions are hopeful that Cain will be able to join the backfield rotation — if not lead it — in time for preseason camp and Penn State’s tough opener at Wisconsin in September.
Penn State still has returning rushers Devyn Ford, Keyvone Lee and Caziah Holmes to help carry the load along with Baylor transfer John Lovett.
Ford was one of the nation’s top recruits in the 2019 signing class but wasn’t able to break out last fall with Cain and Journey Brown both unavailable. Ford also dealt with injuries and a death in his family during the season.
“Devyn Ford has shown flashes. But I think as a group in general, we still need to be a little bit more consistent,” Franklin said. “I think there’s a lot left in the tank at that position and even with Devyn.
“And I think you could make the argument that’s also exciting because they’ve shown flashes. But it’s all about consistency day-in and day-out. I’m seeing Devyn do good things more often and more consistently but still not where we need it to be.”
King in the spotlight
Even before this week, the true freshman drawing the most buzz during spring ball was cornerback Kalen King.
King and his twin brother Kobe, a linebacker, have both impressed coaches and teammates for their maturity and work ethic after graduating high school a semester early and enrolling in January.
Franklin, though, had some particularly strong praise for Kalen King on Wednesday.
“Kalen King is probably the most advanced freshman that we have had since we’ve been here,” said Franklin, who is entering his eighth season leading the Lions.
That would include, apparently, a player named Saquon Barkley. So what does “advanced” mean, in this context?
“In terms of his ability to practice and compete both physically and mentally, he’s really doing well,” Franklin said. “You’d come to practice and you wouldn’t think that (he’s a freshman).”